Bacon Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Recipe
Apr 24, 2018, Updated Mar 23, 2024
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Bacon Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Recipe is the perfect easy delicious vegetable side dish – tons of caramelized broccoli and cauliflower bursting with bacon and parmesan flavor for vegetables the family will actually BEG to eat!
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Rich Bacon Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli
Rich and delicious roasted broccoli and cauliflower are one of my favorite side dishes anytime of year.
Packed with nutrients, easy to adapt to any cuisine, and incredibly budget friendly – this simple roasted vegetable dish is loaded with flavor, simple enough to toss in the oven (you just need to crisp some bacon and then throw the rest of the ingredients in a pan and chuck it all in to cook) – making this one pot bacon parmesan roasted broccoli and cauliflower dish an easy side dish that is so delicious even picky kids will ask for it again and again.
This easy oven roasted broccoli and cauliflower recipe is bursting with bacon and parmesan flavor, as well as tons of roasted garlic and rich, buttery vegetable flavors. It’s great alongside steak, fish, chicken, or pork – and perfect for a dinner party, BBQ, picnic, or just a busy weeknight dinner.
If you’re trying to work more broccoli and cauliflower into your diet, look no further than this totally craveable dish!
Tips to Perfect Parmesan Oven Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower:
This bacon parmesan broccoli and cauliflower dish is delicious, easy, and quick – with a couple easy tips and tricks, you’ll be making this as your new go-to vegetable side dish in no time!
How to Cook Broccoli in Oven
Broccoli is a perfect dish to toss in the oven and let the dry heat do the work for you – it caramelizes and crisps beautifully, for a slightly salty savory vegetable your kids will actually ask to eat again and again.
Roasting broccoli in the oven is so delicious because it helps to break down the bitter flavor broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables can have – instead turning rich and buttery instead of bitter.
While broccoli is excellent stir fried, a hot oven is also a fabulous way to cook broccoli without over-softening it, so it still has some shape and crunch (in my opinion, there is nothing more disgusting than too-soggy and completely mushy broccoli).
- Bake Broccoli Quickly at High Heat
- Since broccoli has a unique, looser structure compared with cauliflower (and the water content is a bit different), it holds up a lot better to heat and doesn’t get mushy right away – but if you love broccoli with a bit of bite (instead of a mushy lump), it’s best to cook it quickly at high heat.
- Don’t overcook the broccoli or cook it too slowly – I am sure you’ve tried a broccoli dish from a slow cooker that didn’t have a ton of texture – the crunchy texture is fabulous for roasted broccoli in the oven – and gives the broccoli a deep, rich buttery flavor you won’t get without the oven’s high heat.
- Let it Brown
- Slightly browned broccoli crowns fresh from roasting in the oven are PACKED with flavor – let the broccoli brown and crisp, even if it’s only on one side.
- Stir the dish less – don’t worry too much about flipping the broccoli over, as it’s more important to us in this recipe to develop a deep caramelization from the vegetables for the best flavor.
How To Cook Cauliflower in Oven
Oven roasted cauliflower is one of my all-time favorite dishes to make as a side – baking or roasting cauliflower in the oven breaks down the cauliflowers tough structure and really pulls out a rich, buttery flavor that isn’t bitter at all as raw cauliflower can be.
While I LOVE making cauliflower rice (click here for the hands-down BEST cauliflower rice recipe, ever), this recipe uses much larger cauliflower florets, as it is meant to be a quick, easy recipe without all the fuss of ricing cauliflower.
How To Make Cauliflower Smell Better When Cooking Cauliflower in the Oven
I’m not going to sugar coat this one – cauliflower, when roasting in the oven, smells like farts.
Oven roasted cauliflower is one of the most delicious ways to eat cauliflower – it gives a rich, buttery flavor that is nothing like the harsh, bitter flavor from raw cauliflower – but until the cauliflower is roasted, it can give a nasty, funky smell as it cooks.
This smell goes away – and I promise your side dish will smell amazing — but as cauliflower cooks and releases some of it’s sulfur, which gives off a very fart-like aroma.
While that can’t be entirely avoided, I do have a couple tips and tricks to help reduce cauliflower smell as you cook this side dish.
- Cook Cauliflower with Bacon or Other Strong, Savory Ingredients.
- This one is the easiest – cooking cauliflower with strong scents (like bacon in this recipe) that are craveable helps to mask the sulfur smell cauliflower gives off as it cooks.
- Add Lemon or Lemon Juice.
- A little acid from slices of lemon or lemon juice drizzled over cauliflower can cut some of the sulphur smell as cauliflower cooks.
- Add Drops of Vinegar.
- Just like lemon juice, vinegar’s acidity can help counteract the sulphur smell as cauliflower cooks.
- Cook it Early.
- This roasted cauliflower and broccoli recipe is fantastic in part because you can cook it earlier than your dinner – giving time for your kitchen to air out a bit before a big dinner or party – and simply re-heat when it’s time to eat, leaving only the deliciously savory bacon and roasted vegetable scents.
- Simply cook almost all the way to done (WITHOUT BACON and parmesan) and then let cool, and store until ready to be reheated. When reheating, add bacon and parmesan to pan and sautee until hot.
- Don’t Cook on an Aluminum or Iron Pan.
- Opt for a naturally nonstick pan (such as ceramic) for a less-smelly way to roast cauliflower.
- I cook this dish in a cast iron pan because I love cauliflower too much to care how it smells when it cooks, but I’ll often open the windows when I do.
- Using a pan without a metal surface will cut down on some of the sulfur’s reaction to metal.
Other side dishes you will love:
Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts with Ghee
Bacon and Broccoli Charred Salad
Roasted Cauliflower with Cilantro Cashew Pesto
Bacon Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Recipe
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Bacon Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon, diced
- ¼ cup garlic, diced
- 1 crown broccoli
- 1 crown cauliflower
- 2 tbsp lemon juice, fresh squeezed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp celtic sea salt
- 1 tbsp italian herb blend
- 1 tsp pepper, fresh cracked
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In large, heavy pan, lightly brown diced strips of bacon.
- Remove bacon from pan when lightly browned, set aside.
- Remove much of the bacon grease from the pan (a little is perfect – but you don’t want too much- just enough to glisten across the bottom of the pan, but not enough to pool up.)
- Add broccoli, cauliflower, and garlic to pan.
- Drizzle with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, and herbs – toss well to coat evenly.
- Place in oven and roast for 30 minutes – until vegetables have started to brown and have reduced in size by about a third.
- Add bacon to pan, and sprinkle vegetables with parmesan.
- Roast for another 5-10 minutes, until parmesan is golden and vegetables have browned bits and are tender to the touch – but aren’t too soft. For softer vegetables, add 10 minutes oven time before adding bacon and parmesan.
- Remove from oven and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love the broccoli & cauliflower bacon recipe
I am a new stepmom, trying to find recipes that work for teenagers. This is the #1 most requested dish in our home, on the menu for Thanksgiving and birthdays. Thank you!!!
Anna that just made my day! I am so glad you’re finding some delicious dishes to bond with your kids!